So, How Many Guys Are You Dating?
by Suikorin
Summary: Shingo, the Junior Kendo Champion meets a female Trooper named...Touma? Status: Indefinite Hold
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: I want to write a small romance, but I didn't want to write boy/boy. This isn't to dis the people who do write them, I'm just uncomfortable about writing that. So I've changed Touma into a girl. Hopefully, this comes out alright. 

Disclaimer: Ronin Warrior ain't mine and never will be.

So, How Many Guys Are you Dating!?

Prologue-That ungrateful brat

In the bullet train station during 6 PM rush hour, people swarmed the decks. Businessmen, children, mothers, even the garbage men, were waiting for the imminent squeeze for the way home. A blue bullet train roared into the station. Few people trickled out the "Exit" side while hundreds crammed their way into the train.

A particularly tall young man with blue-black hair wiggled his way through the crowded station. He wore a large blue sweater and baggy black jeans. Just as a fashion statement, he linked his keys onto a chain that was hooked to his belt. On his shoulder was an old red duffle bag filled with his school books, stationaries and kendo equipment.

_This is ridiculous_ thought Shingo as he struggled to keep his bag out of people's way and make his way to the waiting deck. _At this rate, mom and dad will yell at me again_

Shingo winced at the memory of the disapproving looks from his parents each time he came home late from kendo practice. It didn't matter that he placed many times, even received first place three times in the national junior tournaments. But to his parents, his grades mattered a thousand times more than him proving his superiority in beating people with a stick.

_Oh shit! There's the train! _ thought Shingo. He was still in the stairs when he saw the train doors slide open.

"Train to station Yama Street, Osaka, now boarding!"

_No! no! Don't get in!_ His heart cried desperately to the hordes of people shoving their way through the door. Shingo felt himself being pushed forward by other people who were also trying to be the first to get into the train. Pain shot up through his legs as people stepped on his feet and stubbed their toes on his heels. He, being a seventeen year-old young man, endured the pain with the hopes of getting on the train. If he did, then perhaps his father wouldn't threaten to burn his kendo equipments again.

_Almost there..._

The train was almost filled up. Shingo even resorted to some shoving.

"OUCH!" cried a girl in the crowd. "My books!!!"

That got Shingo's attention. He cranked his neck to the side and saw a small hole in the sea of people about twenty yards away. People were being shoved away as the assailant wormed his way toward Shingo.

"You jerk!" screeched the girl. "You took my purse!"

The people all around the girl momentarily turned their necks. Few looked concerned. Some looked disgusted. Most returned to their determination to get on the train.

_What assholes! _ Shingo's mind raced. Should he get on the train and get a smile from his folks or help out the girl and suffer the reprimands?

His mind shut down as soon as the assailant bumped into Shingo. As a last second reflex, Shingo dropped his bag and grabbed hold of the dirty looking man's stained shirt.

The dirty looking man's eyes were wild, his hand clutching a small dark blue purse. He tried to get away from Shingo's unnaturally strong grip only to find himself punched hard in the guts.

"That should teach you," said Shingo.

The dirty man clutched his stomach, feeling the bile burn its way up his esophagus and into his mouth. The punk aimed a little too high, knocking the wind out of him. For what felt like eternity, his grip on the small purse lightened until it slipped from his fingers and onto the ground.

Shingo was not done with him yet. Picking up his duffle bag, he dragged the dirty man toward where the girl was. Shingo would be damned if he did not get a thank you for his efforts with the pickpocket. Especially if he was to suffer his parent's wrath that night.

The girl herself was still in the middle of uttering curses and gathering her books and papers.

"Are you alright miss?" asked Shingo.

The girl looked up at the question, giving the young man a full view of a soft round face and strangely dark blue eyes.

_Woah! Pretty cute! _ thought Shingo as he blinked once to clear his eyes. She looked like a regular Japanese girl, but her features were perfect and movements were graceful like the crane. Oddly, a strange recall nagged him in the back of his mind. _Why do I have a feeling that I've seen her before? _

The girl blinked twice, as if she never expected a person to be there. Then her eyes widened and her hands went to her open mouth.

"What did you do to him!?" The girl accused. She dropped the books in her hand and rushed over to the dirty man who had curled into a fetal position on the ground. Her hand immediately went to the man's stomach and to his forehead. "My lord! Don't you know you're not supposed to hit a sick man?"

Shingo blinked. That was definitely not the welcoming and thankful response he was expecting. This girl, she looked rather meek with her conservative ankle-length skirt, gray sweater, and blue-rimmed glasses. Her expression, however, convinced Shingo that she was angrier than a swarm of African killer bees.

"Well, that is very ungrateful of you!" said Shingo, his tone was equally harsh. "I guess you don't want this back now, do you?" asked Shingo as he dangled the purse tauntingly in front of the girl.

The girl made a face and tried to grab her purse. Shingo, being half a head taller than the girl, snapped the purse up out of her reach. The action incited an outraged look on the girl's face.

"Give it back!" demanded the girl.

Shingo pretended to think about it then smirked. "Um...no!"

He missed the danger sign of the immediate slanting of the girl's eyes. In less than a second, he felt a killer pain in between his legs.

"Ieeeeeee!" Cried Shingo. He doubled over in pain. That special spot hurt so much, he had to drop the purse and bite his tongue to keep himself from crying out louder.

"Serves you right!" said the girl as she took her purse back. She gave one last glare at Shingo before turning to the dirty man.

"Are you alright, mister?" she asked softly.

The dirty man nodded tentatively as he rubbed his soiled shirt.

The girl gave him a sympathetic look then fished out a pen, a scrap of paper, and a few coins from her purse. On the paper, she quickly scribbled a few numbers down.

"What are you doing?" whispered Shingo hoarsely.

The girl did not reply. Instead, she folded the paper. Her small white hand reached for the dirty man's hand that automatically recoiled from her touch. But the girl's reaction was quick, and grabbed hold of his hand and deposited the paper and coins into large sullied hand then closed them with her other hand.

"Call them," she said calmly. "They miss you."

_What the hell? _ thought Shingo before all of them heard the call.

"Next train to stop at Shiki, Osaka, departing!"

"Ack! That's my train!" exclaimed the girl. "Shin's gonna kill me if I'm late again!"

Faster then the eyes could follow, the girl grabbed her books and ran. All the while the dirty man skittered away like a crab on the run.

_Shiki? Isn't that the nicer part of town? _Shingo stood up as the pain subsided. But one little thing on the ground caught his eyes. He reached down to grab it.

It was an ID card.

"Hashiba Touma," said Shingo out loud. "What a weird name for a girl..." He glanced at it, reading the dates. It seemed that she was a year younger than him. "I'll just turn it in when I get the time. I better get to the next train before..."

"Yama Street, Osaka has departed."

Shingo gave a look of disbelief and semi-shock. "Crap!"

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Sukorin: I can only hope that I will finish this...


	2. The New Student

AN: I want to thank the two people who reviewed. I thought this thing was so crappy that it wasn't worth reading, and believe me, I don't want to add to the clutter. 

Another thing, I decided to put the family name first as it would be in those countries. I'm not sure how the -chan and -kun would work out, so I'll use them spairingly. 

So How Many Guys Are You Dating?

Chapter 1: The New Student

Shingo sighed and stared into space. It was a school day now and he was in the black pants with the button-up black shirt uniform of Getsukin High School. 

His head was plopped listlessly on the desk in math class before the bell, thinking about the rather unpleasant talk he had had with his parents last night. Evidently, one of his nosy teacher's concern about his grades had somehow trickled to his folk's ears. That combined with his lateness to home gave him a long lecture in front of his little brothers and sisters. Both of his parents said much along the lines of "If you do not stay home and study so you bring home perfect grades, you won't go to college." 

Shingo shook his head as he thought about the lecture. So he did not bring home all superiors for all of his grades and he barely got the excellences for his chemistry class. But he was the National Junior Kendo Champion for the past three years and still managed to bring home above-average grades. Those two alone will get him into a good school as is. When will he ever convince his parents of that? When will they ever get sick of nagging him?

"Hey Shingo!" yelled Akira.

Akira was a slightly shorter, but still taller than most, young man with the same build and and age as Shingo. Akira had a more defined jawline as opposed to Shingo's smooth chin. Normally, right before math class, Akira would flirt like crazy with their fellow females. This time, however, AKira was not flirting. He pranced next to Shingo and proceeded to nudge the sluggish young man's leg with his shoe. "What's wrong with you, man? You've been sighing all morning!"

Shingo gave a wiry look at Akira who had brought an entourage of girls behind him. The girls were a natural addition to the two friend's presence for three reasons: one, that both young men were almong the cuter ones; secondly, that both were officers of their school's famous Kendo Club ran by Sensei Meisi; and lastly, Akira loved to say sweet words to the girls, which kept them coming back for more.

Shingo shrugged and said, "Same things again."

It took less than a second for Akira to catch on. There was only one thing Shingo had always complained about. "Come on! Your folks can't be that bad about it. I mean, you were the Junior Kendo Champion for the last two years! That's gotta look good on a college application."

"That's right!" agreed some of the girls in Akira's entourage.

"You are in the top ten percent of this school Shingo-kun," said a girl named Yumi. She was the undisputed head female of their class. A little shorter than most, with chest length brown hair and light brown eyes. She stood shorter than Akira's shoulder, her face proportioned in a way that made her the school beauty. "And you're gonna win again at this year's National Kendo Competition. Don't we all agree?"

"Yeah!" was the resounding agreement.

Shingo felt somewhater cheered-up. It was very nice to have friends such as them; they were always encouraging and positive. He was about to say something back when the bell rang.

The immediate reaction was a general low moan, the sole cheer coming from the school nerd/genius, Houin. Most ceased their talk and shuffled to their chairs as their teacher, Mr. Setshin walked in.

Mr. Setshin was a rather short balding man with large square glasses. He normally had a gentle smile with a voice that gave everyone the warm feeling of a nice grandfather who liked to give everyone sweets. He was also the hardest teacher in the freakin' world.

"Alright alright. Settle down children and open your books to page one-fifty."

"If only Mr. Setshin could be easier," said Shingo finally. He stared at the book, thinking about how to express the three-dimensional graph of a helix with polar coordinates.

Mr. Setshin used to be Doctor Setshin. He taught at Tokyo University until he felt like moving back to his hometown Osaka to work for a local high school. Being at the university, Mr. Setshin certainly loved to give insanely difficult tests on which even Houin could only get a seventy at best.

Shingo did not have anything personal against Mr. Setshin, except the fact that Mr. Setshin had taken a personal interest in him. Shingo bet that Mr. Setshin was the person who told his parents about his grades.

"Oh, before we start. Let me introduce our new student," said Mr. Setshin like it was an after though. He looked toward the door and waved. "You may come in now, Miss Hashiba."

That name got Shingo attention. He looked up from his book only to see the same girl he saw yesterday wearing the black school uniform of Getsukin High school.

The whole class was greeted by one of the prettiest tall girls they had ever seen. Her skin was flawless and pale, all in perfect contrast to her dark eyes and waist length hair. Some of the guys whistled at her long slender legs and graceful movements as she raised a piece of chalk to write her name on the board.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Hashiba Touma. I am pleased to meet you all." Touma bowed deep, much like a traditional girl. "I hope to have a successful year here at Getsukin High, Junior Class A."

"You may take a seat next to Kazamatsuri Shingo," said Mr. Setshin. "Kazamatsuri, raise your hand!"

Touma raised an eyebrow when she saw Shingo, but said nothing. Her gaze, however, was dark and penetrating, like accusing him of squishing a pretty butterfly.

Shingo stared back with a slight blush, remembering the kick she had administered the night before. Now that he had time to think about it, it was probably wrong of him to hit that man. Thank God that no one knows about that.

They kept up the staring contest, oblivious to the changing atmosphere of everyone around them. The girls gnashed their teeth in sight of this new competition. The guys gave Shingo poisonous looks for taking away the cute ones even before they got a chance to talk with her.

Everyone, however, had no time to discuss their new student as Mr. Setshin decided it was a good time for a pop-quiz.

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Shingo lounged against a tree while munching on his apple as Yumi and Aoi talk about the latest gossip in their school.

All of them, along with Akira, sat under their favorite Sakura Tree. The four were an exclusive group of friends worthy of envy in their school. Shingo and Akira had placed top three in the National Junior Kendo Championship. Yumi was the school beauty. Aoi was a pre-Olympic trial swimmer with grades comparable to Houin the genius.

Akira rolled his eyes as he listened in on Yumi's jabbering. To him, Yumi did not have much of a personality, but she did know some of the nastiest and dirtiest secrets of teachers and their fellow students. Being the class beauty certainly got her into nearly all social circles. This time, she had some interesting things to say about their new student.

"You know that Hashiba girl? I heard that she got kicked out of Osaka Prep," said Yumi.

"Really?" asked Shingo.

"Yeah. I heard that she had an affair with one of the teachers and he was one who had been changing her grades so she passes all those years," said Yumi. "It was in the papers."

"That's terrible," said Aoi with a quiet voice.

"Isn't it? I mean, with a teacher and all. The teacher was reluctant in letting her attend this school too," jabbered Yumi.

Shingo just shook his head, being a little skeptical of what Yumi was saying. Most girls he knew were disgusting as is, Yumi included. For some reason, though he could not comprehend Miss Hashiba being that type of girl. Shingo was a skilled swordsman who could feel a person's aura when he was given time to obvserve. Touma had one of the most powerful and demanding aura he had ever encountered. That aura oddly reminded him much of the guy he challenged personally two years ago.

_What did happen to that guy? Date Seiji..._ he wondered. When Shingo challenged him, Seiji was the champion of Kendo in Northeastern Japan three years back. Since Shingo had some family issues at the time, he did not attend the formal event for the determination of the National Champion. Shingo did, however, travel to the Date dojo and challenge Seiji after the fact.

Seiji was a formidable opponent, with a piercing gaze that looked right into a man's very soul with one violet eye. Then there was this feeling that he gave off. Powerful, aggressive, calculating and calm, worthy to be a descendant of the legendary general, One Eye Dragon Date. However, when Shingo finally crossed swords with him, Seiji punched him in the face. That act was an absolute no-no in Kendo, and they never saw each other again.

"Hello? Earth to Shingo-kun!" said Aoi while poking Shingo lightly on the shoulder. "What are you thinking?"

"Oh! I'm just thinking about that kid from Sendai," replied Shingo.

"Huh?"

"You know. Date Seiji?" clarified Shingo. 

"Oh yeah! That jerk who punched you three years ago," said Yumi. "I bet he's too scared of you to compete against you ever again."

"Naw," disagreed Akira. He dipped his chopsticks into his rice. With a mouthful, he said, "I had to fight him in the semi-finals that one time. I gotta tell ya, with his skills and that eye, he doesn't need to be worried about being scared."

"Still a jerk," mumbled Yumi. She finished off the last of her sandwich. "That guy should have been barred from competition."

Shingo finished his apple and tossed it into a trash can eight feet away. "I would like to fight him again," said Shingo. "And have an honorable fight."

"Hey! Isn't that the new girl coming toward us?" Aoi pointed out.

Shingo look away from their little group conversation to see that girl pacing toward them. She was alone, carrying her dark blue backpack on her shoulders and a rather heavy looking collapsible golden bow that spanned at least five feet in her hands.

"Hey! Miss Hashiba!" hollered Akira. He waved with chopsticks in hand for her to join them. "Come eat with us."

However, Touma made no notice of Akira. Instead, she paced directly in front of Shingo. "I would like to have my ID card back," she said.

That made Shingo sat up from his lounging position. "Huh?" _How did she know I had it? _

"I know you have it, so give it back," said Touma. "Now."

This time, Yumi got a little defensive. "New girl! Don't you dare talk to our Shingo-kun that way!"

Touma gave Yumi a dark look. The tall new girl's eyes were dark, but anyone could tell that it was an odd shade of impossibly blue-black. They bore into Yumi like the back end of the abyss, ready to swallow the girl whole. Yumi stared back with equal fervor of those light brown eyes. There was no way she was going to lose to a new girl.

"I'll give it to you tomorrow," Shingo spoke as he sat up, immediately terminating the incipient staring contest between Touma and Yumi. He personally did not like cat fights involving Yumi. He knew just how vindictive Yumi could get. "I left it at home. I didn't think I would meet you here." He gave Touma an apologetic look. "By the way, what are you doing with that bow? It's as big as you are."

The others were puzzling about the same thing. They were part of a special interest group who were into all the classical weaponry. That collapsible bow Touma was carrying must weight at least twenty-five kilograms, the same weight that a professional soldier would use for weights on chest muscle development.

Strangely, Touma smiled. Her initial demanding and aggressive look was replaced by the meek and shy traditional girl in their math class. "I'm trying out for the Archery Team." Touma carefully fingered the elaborate designs on her bow like it was her most treasured possession. "I know it's mid-season, but I hope I get in."

"That's cool," said Akira. He had finished his rice and was now sipping on a packet of apple juice. "You know, Yumi here is the captain of the female Archery Team."

"I see." Touma looked at Yumi speculatively.

"I'm the vice-president of the Kendo Club," said Akira proudly. Then, he pointed to Shingo. "Mr. Kazamatsuri here is the president and champion of kendo."

"Champion of Kendo..." muttered Touma softly.

"For two years!" added Aoi proudly.

Touma slanted her eyes. "Aren't you that same ass who threw sand into Date's eye years ago?"

"What?!" shouted Akira. He knew fully what the punishment for such an act in formal Kendo would incur. "What are you talking about? Shingo would die before he would ever do that!"

Then, just as Touma was about to say something further, a ring went off.

The group of four looked at each other with puzzlement. They were amazed, but at the same time, puzzled when Touma fished out a cell phone from her bag. Cell phones were strictly for usage of notoriously busy businessmen. Why was this girl using one?

Touma face vaulted when she saw the caller id. Without any explanation, she spun on a heel and quickly walked away.

Yumi glared at the fading backside of Touma. "Just what we need, another lying whore in this world..."

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So yeah...little Suikorin is amazed that this part came in so quickly. Little Suikorin still would thank to thank the two kind reviewers for their encouragement. 


	3. Meisi's Request

AN:Anyways, thanks for the reviews. Every single author write more because of them. And it's just so speical to get an email that's not spam. 

  
Chapter 2 - Meisi's Request

Late into the night, past nine o' clock when most the students had gone home as it was a saturday, there was one particular light on the third floor of Getsukin High.

Slash. Block. Strike.

Inside the makeshift dojo called the gymnastics room, Shingo was working up a sweat, repeating the same maneuvers over and over again. It was a standard form, created to aid a samurai in an actual fight. His instructor often said that if one wants to get better, the most basic tactic is the starting point.

Slash. Block. Strike.

Shingo could imagine enemies closing in on him. Each pointed their sword at him. He could see Seiji in the distance, the ultimate opponent for one with his experience.

Slash. Slash. Block. Strike. Strike.

Images of Seiji were clear in his mind now. The Date child had odd blonde hair like a westerner. Like the finest silk, those strands fell haphazardly over one eye, leaving the other free.

Slash. Block. Strike.

Seiji's movements were clear to him. Seiji was now standing with a wooden sword in the most vulnerable defensive stance before him. Seiji had that chilling calm on his face, completely relaxed, looking so confident. Shingo tensed up and took the first aggressive stab.

Slash. Block. Stumble.

Suddenly, Shingo was on the floor, panting heavily. He was thinking hard, about what Touma said.

_"Aren't you that same ass who threw sand in Date's face years ago?"_

Shingo raked his head with his finger nails. Why did this strange girl bring that up now? How did she even know about it? It was bad enough as is that he wanted to bury himself in a nine feet deep hole each time he saw his Kendo trophies from that year. Now he had this pretty new girl glaring at him almost every chance she got.

"Touma," whispered Shingo. Thinking about the girl made him feel hot around the ears, a feeling he had never felt with any girl. Sure, when Yumi was suggesting some behind-closed-doors-activities, he had the same reaction. But Touma, the mere though of her made him burn. Idly, he wondered what her softer touch would feel like. How smooth her legs were...how perfect her chest...

"I better go get a drink," said Shingo to himself, shaking away some more inappropriate thoughts. He knew better than to entertain such erotic ideas with a girl before marriage, his parents had preached it enough times. Even with nearly all his guy friends worshipping the nude image of females, Shingo was left oddly alien to their influence. In fact, he felt unusually disgusted with himself for thinking that. That and he was thirsty as he forgot his water bottle at home. He quietly opened the dojo door and stepped into his school shoes. Dirt was something that Sensei Meisi did not tolerate. Shingo knew better than to annoy one of the best Kendo Instructors in Japan, even if he wasn't here.

As he was walking down the hall, he heard some distant talking. _Who would be around here at this hour?_ he thought. It was a Saturday and even Akira, who was usually ardent about practicing Kendo with Shingo, went home early. So, Instead of going toward the water fountain, he walked toward the stairwell where the voices were coming from.

_It's Mr. Setshin and...Touma?_

From the top of the stairwell, Shingo could see Mr. Setshin holding stack of papers happily bloodied by a red marker. Touma was standing next to Mr. Setshin as he talked.

"Their pop-quiz grades are pathetic, but overall, above average than the previous years."

"Well, you do test them at the university level," said Touma. Her golden bow was nowhere to be seen. In her hand was Mr. Setshin's briefcase and on her back a dark blue backpack. "I see this Houin person scored a fifty percent on this."

Upon hearing that, Shingo had to stifle his need to moan. If Houin did not pass, what were the chances that he passed?

"Haha...that is true. But you, you scored a perfect hundred plus the bonus. Definitely the god-send child."

"You are too kind, Mr. Setshin." said Touma.

"Oh no. Call me Uncle Setshin like you used to." said Mr. Setshin. He flipped through the papers and gave back an unmarked paper. "I've made it perfect like you are."

"Just...don't tell anybody okay?" Touma looked a bit irritated. She folded the paper twice and stuffed it into an outer pocket of her backpack. "I want anonymity for once."

"Anything for Geniichirou's daughter." He started to walk toward a hall way with Touma trailing behind him. "How is he? I haven't seen him since I left the university. I heard he got sick."

"Let's...not talk about that." Touma looked apprehensive about something. "I rather that we get down to business."

Mr. Setshin smiled, much like a predator. "Of course." His old wrinkled hand went immediately to Touma's back and rubbed it suggestively. "Let's go do it."

The rest of the conversation was just indistinct chatter to Shingo. He felt like hitting something hard for his heart fluttered like a dragonfly in the wind. Yumi was right! Touma does sell herself to get good grades. He could not believe it! Why did it have to be her? Touma was better than that! Heck! Any girl in their school is better than that.

_Why do I even care?_ thought Shingo as he lightly knocked his skull. Touma was a new girl. The two times they met, she had yelled at him. She was pompous and cold. Definitely not accommodating and nice like Aoi and Yumi. _I'm going to give back her ID, and that will be the end of it._

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When the next school day came around, monday, Shingo forgot the girl's ID at home again. Shingo was at his wooden practice swords wearing his usual kendo practice garb early in the morning, berating himself for forgetting such an important thing as he repeated numerous drills. He had heard that ID cards were so important that anyone could just use it to find out important things like criminal records and bank account numbers. Wait. Maybe he could use it to...

"Concentrate!"

Shingo jumped a little.

Sensei Meisi stood watching Shingo like a hawk ready for the kill. Meisi was a bald man in his sixties. He wore age-old traditional clothes that were normally for home, outside. There was a slight hump on his back and he always shuffled slowly from one place to another. When Akira first met him in middle school, he laughed and asked Meisi, "Don't you need a walker?"

Akira went home that day needing a walker.

Shingo knew better than to make stupid comments like that around Meisi. So he did not require the walker until a week after Akira could move without pain again.

"That's enough!" ordered Sensei Meisi.

Shingo stopped in mid-swing, then slowly lowered the wooden sword. Sensei Meisi may have said to stop, but Meisi was always testing him. Shingo was, after all, Meisi's pride and joy. So much that Shingo received free lessons even after Shingo's parents refused to pay the fees. Shingo deserved it as Meisi would do anything to cultivate such a rare natural talent that Shingo had for kendo.

"Sensei?" queried Shingo. Sensei Meisi had a strange look on his face. It was solemn like usual, but Shingo could tell that Meisi had something on his mind.

"I've received the pre-list of the participating schools and students to this year's Kendo Championship," said Meisi, picking up stack of neatly stapled paper. "Your favorite person is not on there."

Shingo blinked uncomprehending for a split second then said, "You mean, Date?"

"Yes," answered Meisi simply.

Shingo became silent. He knew what Sensei meant and wanted by informing Shingo of this. Although the competition finals were at the end of next spring, everyone had to register before leaving for winter break. Those who failed to register before the deadline were forbidden to participate. The youngest generation of the Date household just happened to register too late in the last three years, depriving Shingo of a much needed rematch.

"I went to Sendai recently to meet with the Grandfather, we are old friends. While I was there, I saw his grandson practice with an iron practice sword. He was," Meisi took a moment to look up and sigh. "Incredible." Meisi then looked down to Shingo. "Just like you." he said as an after thought.

"Thank you sensei," muttered Shingo. He personally did not like how Meisi had to look away. Seiji must have improved vastly over the years to get such an approval from Meisi. Shingo knew his own kendo aptitude had increased in the last few years, enough that Meisi openly told people about him. It would be interesting to see who was best between them.

"Old Kenishiro said that Seiji will not compete again unless..." Meisi looked to Shingo squarely in the eye, curiosity clear in his filmy orbs "you personally request it."

Shingo stared at Meisi stupidly. He understood what Meisi was implying. "What?"

"You heard what I said. Now, go." Meisi dismissed Shingo. "School starts in an hour."

With that Shingo dismissed himself. He grabbed a hold of his duffle bag and left the Meisi Dojo.

Shingo found the streets outside the Dojo empty as usual. It was still very early in the morning as Shingo was excused sooner than usual. Meisi was nice enough to allow Shingo to practice in his own home, which was only a few blocks from school.

Walking toward school, Shingo could not help but think about Touma again. Sensei Meisi's mention of Date reminded Shingo of Touma's comment last Saturday. With her less than pretty words, he still remembered the incident at the train station. Then there was Mr. Setshin touching her back...

"You forgot," came a familiar voice.

Shingo twisted around on a heel as if he was marching. He almost fell over when he saw the girl.

Touma approached him with a limp. Even in the faint early morning light, he could spot various painful swellings near her cheek, jaw, and neck. An ice pack was held to her cheek with a hand that had three band-aids on it. There were dark circles under her eyes. Even her legs, covered by long socks, looked asymmetric from possible bruises. With all obvious signs of blunt trauma on her body though, her uniform was immaculate. Nothing was out of place, even her hair was jelled and bounded in place with a dark blue scrunchie.

"Are you alright?" asked Shingo. He was naturally concerned. She looked like she traversed through an torture chamber to attend school.

"That's a stupid question," said Touma sarcastically. "Do I even **look** alright?" She removed the ice-pack on her cheek, her wrist bones crackling painfully, to reveal a very nasty purple bruise.

"What happened?" Shingo had never seen a girl so physically hurt in real life. He thought he was immune to blood and gore from all the TV he had watched, but seeing an actual girl with all those swellings just made his heart twist into a knot.

"Evil spirits. Damn stairs. Damn Korin," she mumbled more to herself than to answer Shingo's question. "So why did you leave my ID at home again?"

"Um...Um..." spluttered Shingo. He thought a girl like that would immediately start telling him of how she was in an abusive home or who had touched her or who should be in jail for hurting her. All the ways that a girl would ask someone, anyone, to protect her. Instead, she was shrugging her condition off as if it were a minor inconvenience. Shingo squirmed under the girl's intense gaze. _How did she know I don't have it?_

"Forget it," the girl sighed. "Just take your **lovely** time. It's not like I need to wait an entire day in line at the licensing office for the loss and replacement of an official document."

"Now that's unfair!" objected Shingo. "So I didn't know you were going to attend my school. So I forgot it once. You don't have to yell at me for it."

"Yes I do!" Touma was getting defensive. "Do you know how many freakin' times I had to call my mother to get into my own house because the security guard wouldn't let me in? How much do you like sitting outside until three in the morning?"

"It's only been two days!" screamed Shingo. "I'll get it tomorrow so quit being a bitch!"

Touma's eyes widened at Shingo's choice of words. Angrily, Touma attempted to stomp off, but the stomping idea was immediately discarded as the pain in her legs shot up her spine. "Kuso!" she cursed softly to herself.

It took Shingo another five second of staring before he took the last minute in. _Shit._ He realized with horror that he probably should not have used that word. With a little effort, he ran up to catch up with the girl. Limping could only take a person so far in such a short time.

"Hey," he called.

Touma limped on.

"I'm sorry!" he apologized. "I won't call you by that word ever again!"

Touma ignored him.

"Look! I can help carry your briefcase for you," he offered.

Touma stopped in her tracks and looked back. Shingo was relieved, but before he could say a word...

"Do I look like an invalid?" asked Touma, sounding outraged.

Shingo resisted the urge to scream at her. This girl had proven to be ungodly difficult. Some girls at school would die for the chance to carry his stuff, let alone him offering to carry their stuff.

"Yes! You look like an invalid," said Shingo, barely keeping his voice steady. "Heck! I don't even know why a girl in your condition would even bother coming to school instead of staying in the hospital getting x-rays. Don't you know large bruises could result in death if the clots get into your heart and brain? I only want to be nice to you because I forgot your stupid ID. So let me help you carry your stuff!"

Touma's dark eyes, accusing eyes never blinked nor changed intensity. Touma must be one of those strong-headed girls who would never admit defeat. She did, however, hold out her briefcase straight in front of her.

Shingo held out his hands and caught the briefcase as Touma released it with another painful crack of her wrist.

"Thank you!" huffed Shingo. "Now don't go do anything stupid. I don't think I would like to explain to the medic or the police why you're like this."

Touma rolled her eyes but did not reply. They continued to school in silence, meeting only a couple of students along the way. Both students took time to gawk at Touma and Shingo as they walked past them. Shingo's was right because both of them stopped and asked her if they needed to call 911 for her.

Shingo walked a few paces behind Touma as she took her time to limp toward school. Touma seemed to have lost her earlier aggravation, but Shingo could bet that was probably due more to sleep-deprivation than to his lecture. The young man had gotten into enough fights to know the difference between hurt and exhaustion. Eventually, his pace evened up next to Touma.

"So, why are you coming to school anyways?" asked Shingo. He was bothered by his curiosity and her silence.

"Who will tell me what assignments are due?" said Touma. "I hate falling behind."

"That's it? I could've told you all the assignments."

"Riiiiiight...And how do you propose to do that?"

"I could call you."

"You don't know my number."

"I could find you."

"You don't know my address."

"But I do."

"Reeeealy...And how in the world do you know that?"

Shingo smirked. "Easy. I have your ID."

Surprisingly, Touma chuckled. Shingo noticed that she had a pretty laugh, even if there was discoloration from the many bruises. The sound reminded him of the swirling of autumn leaves.

"You're beautiful when you smile, you know that?" confessed Shingo.

Touma made a sudden stop, but did not look at the young man. Shingo cringed inwardly, predicting that she would blow her top again. Surprisingly, he heard a very soft "Thank you." Then Touma said with a louder voice. "You're not bad looking either."

Shingo grinned widely. Her words had made his heart soar like a falcon. He was sorely tempted to tightly hug Touma for all his worth, but thought better of the idea at the last second. Touma was hurt so he would probably cause her pain if he even touched her. He was sorely disappointed when they had to part at the gates since he was still quite stinky from his morning practice. As he half stumbled to the school showers, he could only think of her words.

_You're not bad looking either_

--------------------------------------------------

Standard disclaimers apply here.

Suikorin


	4. Second Day

AN: Thanks for all the reviews cries They make me really really happy and give me the courage and willingness (I'm in enginerding) to write some more.

AN2:When I went to school over there, physical punishment was still allowed. (That just tells you how old I am) I'm not sure if it's allowed now, or if it was even practiced during high school years. (My brother said no, but I'm always skeptical). I'm gonna assume that it's allowed. Also, I've taken some liberties with the trooper's age and time line. That probably won't show up until later. Also...I think this thing needs a better title. Suggestions?

So How Many Guys Are you Dating?

Second Day

Yumi, the class beauty, arrived at school with a score of worshipping males trailing and honoring her very steps. She strutted nonchalantly toward the gates, ignoring the many offerings of eternal love from both genders. Since middle school, Yumi realized that males like certain things about her chest that many boys found fascinating. Learning from her equally beautiful mother, Yumi knew that if she wanted something, she should give only promises in exchange for service. So far, Yumi had kept herself relatively safe from all those bad rape stories. Maybe it was Shingo's presence too as they were friends since childhood.

Having passed the gates ignoring the promises of eternal love from both genders, Yumi idly climbed the stairs to the second floor where her classes were held.

"Yumi-Sempai!" cried a Freshmen while waving at Yumi. She was a plain looking thing with short hair and brown eyes. She stood just about Yumi's height, but was as skinny as a dried twig.

"What is it, Tomoko?" asked Yumi as she entered the second floor to see an exclusive clique.

They were in a group of girls often referred to as the popular people. This group consisted of only two types of people; the popular and the extremely social. These people often met outside with the current head female of the class. As the head senior female was busy studying for a college entrance exam, the role of 'holding court' fell to the next available person, Yumi.

Tomoko's expression was urgent as Yumi approached the group for the latest school news. "Yumi-sempai! I saw Shingo-Sempai walking with that new girl."

Many other girls who were there looked very concerned also. They whispered among themselves

Yumi shrugged. "So? Shingo walks with a lot of girls." Shingo was a semi-sort of a player. He would often be nice to girls but only on a politeness basis.

"He was carrying her bag," clarified Tomoko.

That made Yumi a little more concerned. "When?"

"This morning," said Tomoko. "You gotta talk to the new girl Yumi. We don't want an outsider taking our Shingo-sempai away."

"We?" Yumi raised her eyebrows.

"Well..." Tomoko gave an apologetic look. She knew she had crossed the line when she assumed Shingo to be exclusively theirs.

"Let's go speak to this new girl, shall we?" said Yumi with a yawn. Ladies in Getsukin high tended to think ofShingo-kun as a treasure, the person that defined their school. He was popular and it would only be acceptable if he liked the most popular female: Yumi.

"But Yumi-chan, no one has seen her since then," said another.

"Hum?"

"Someone said that she turned into a blue light and disappeared."

Yumi snorted. Sometimes, people at her school said the strangest things. "Then I will speak to her when I see her."

----------------------------------------------

By the time lunch rolled around, there was no sign of their new student, not even a shadow. Some teachers voiced their concerns as it was highly unusual for anyone to miss class, even if Touma just turned out to be another delinquent.

Akira noticed some strange thing about his best friend. Shingo had some odd inclination to check the nurse's office each time there was a break. His mood was not the usual cool but seemed a little agitated yet extremely happy at the same time. Like how Shingo happily volunteered for the physics problem but messed up completely on the board. Akira was not the only person in the class that noticed, everyone else noticed too.

"He was smiling for no reason!" exclaimed one of the girls in Akira's female groupie.

"I know! He's just so cute, I could swoon if he smiled at me," said another.

"I got a picture of him smiling in class!" said a girl in the back.

"Let me see!!!" cried many girls.

Akira shook his head and wisely walked away from the obsessed females. Why were girls attracted to cold and unresponsive guys? Sure, he had a lot of girls follow him around, but probably not the type of girls that would worship him like they worshipped Shingo. _I'll probably never figure out the female mind._

"Haha. Are you jealous, Akira-kun?" asked Aoi. She nudged Akira playfully on the shoulder. She had her short shoulder length black hair bounded.

"Jealous? Heck no!" AKira quickly balked at such a suggestion.

"Maybe," said Aoi. "I grew up with you Akira. I know how you feel to be constantly in the shadow of Shingo-kun."

Akira's expression blanched, but before he could say anything, Aoi started to talk.

"Anyways, I saw that Hashiba girl this morning in the school gym."

"Really?" asked Akira. "I thought she just didn't come to school."

Aoi shrugged. "Well, morning swim practice ended earlier so I came here to take a shower. She was in the showers too" said Aoi as her face grew troubled and her voice dropped to a whisper. Akira had to duck down next to Aoi's ears to hear her. "Don't tell anyone, but I saw a lot of red stuff wash away from her stall. I even saw her coming out. Her entire towel was red and pink."

"Blood?" queried Akira.

Aoi, who was looking slightly green now, nodded. Aoi decided not to mention the more gruesome parts. What the towel did not cover was perhaps the most mutilated shoulder that Aoi had ever saw in her entire life. It looked like someone had whipped the poor girl with garrote wires. Aoi did not want to imagine what more Touma was hiding. Parental Abuse? Gang Wars? Drug Deals? Her parents told her it was best not to associate herself with those people, least they drag her down with them. But there was that expression Touma had when she was looking at the mirror. There was so much towering rage mixed with unspeakable despair, nothing like the apathetic greeting she gave only two days ago. Aoi honestly felt that Touma could go insane at any moment.

"Hey, the bell rang, we gotta go back to class," said Akira.

Aoi blinked out of her thoughts. "Yeah, let's go back."

The two shuffled to their class and immediately noticed the missing person was back.

Touma had her head down on a soft-looking velvety blue pillow with her arms hugging the pillow. Some nightshades covered her eyes. Her back rose and fell slowly as if she was deep asleep. Around her were a few of the class A students, staring at her as if she was some daredevil.

"She's gonna get killed by Mrs. Yun," whispered one of the boys in the class.

"Where did she get that awful bruise?" asked the girl who sat in front of her.

"She just showed up half an hour ago," whispered another.

"Isn't she hot wearing the black school jacket?"

"No wondered she failed Osaka Prep," snorted Yumi.

"I don't know," said Houin skeptically. "Mr. Setshin said that she's the only one who passed the quiz last friday."

"You got to be kidding Houin! There's no way anyone could pass that quiz," blurted a girl.

"Quiet everyone! Mrs. Yun is here," said Shingo.

Akira and Aoi both quickly took their seat as Mrs. Yun walked in.

Mrs. Yun was one of the newer teachers fresh from the University. She was a small typical Japanese married woman and deceptively frail looking. However, she had made physics a nightmare for all of the classes she taught. She even made some students cry because of her often biting comments. In her hand was a meter long bamboo stick just in case the students needed more convincing about paying attention in her class. And today, she was in a bad mood.

"Good morning students," was Mrs. Yun's serious introduction. Her dark brown eyes did a cursory of the room, nodding in approval at the alert looks from the general room. Then her eyes fell upon the sleeping girl."I see we have a sleeping beauty in this class now," said Mrs. Yun loudly.

A soft snore was emitted from Touma.

"Wake up!" Mrs. Yun shouted.

Silence.

"Someone wake that moron!" commanded Mrs. Yun.

Everyone in the class looked away.

Mrs. Yun was a little indignant with the total lack of respect this Hashiba girl was giving her. Sleeping in class was the ultimate insult to a teacher. Making an example of the new student would definitely make the lesson stick. Without as much as a warning, Mrs Yun paced up next to Touma and raised her stick and brought it swiftly down.

"AH!" The reaction was immediate. Touma's eyes popped opened but closed just as quickly. Tiny rivets of tears fell and she shook violently from clenching her fist so tightly. Hyperventilation caused her chest to rise and fall like she was about to panic. "What the **hell** did you just do that for?" Touma's tone went from a whimpering whisper to a accusing roar.

The class stared at Mrs. Yun and Touma in shock. Never had anyone take that tone with Mrs. Yun.

Mrs. Yun herself was in shock also. She rarely had any student openly demand an explanation for her punishments. Those who did were the ones who were in trouble with the authorities. "What did you just say?"

"I said, 'What the hell did you just do that for?' That really really hurts!"

"That's it! I'm writing you up!" said Mrs. Yun.

"Go ahead," said Touma coldly. She swiftly slipped half of her jacket off. Underneath the black jacket was a pristine white shirt with a spotted line of red quickly solidifying, causing Mrs. Yun to gasp. "I'm reporting you for assault."

"No you won't," someone's voice broke in.

Everyone in the class looked toward the door. It was a relatively handsome young man with reddish brown hair and a little bit of sideburn. He looked too old to be in high school but too young to be out of college. His mature looks quickly attracted the adoring looks from the female population.

He proceeded to Mrs. Yun and gave her two pink slips. "There is an emergency call for you." He pointed out the first one. "And this one allows Miss Hashiba to leave."

Mrs. Yun took the slip, still looking at Touma's blood-dappled back. "Class. Read chapter six. I'll be back." With that, she left the room, still sporting a shocked look on her face.

"Get up. We gotta go," commanded the young man.

Shingo inwardly growled at the intruder. Who does this ass think he is? How dare he order Touma around like a little puppet. "Reason?" asked Touma as if the entire class of forty other students did not exist.

"Well, among other things...your father has asked for you."

"Oh..." Touma's mood was suddenly subdued. "Give me five minutes. Meet me in the front gates." She slipped the large jacket back on and rushed out of the classroom.

The young man looked around as if nothing had happened. Shrugging, he began to walk toward the classroom exit.

"Wait!" called Aoi.

Shin turned his head slightly.

Aoi had watched the happening of the last few minutes with much confusion like much of the class. Then this young man appeared and she swore she saw him somewhere. "Aren't you Mouri Shin? The Olympic Swimmer?"

Shin's eyes went large and tilted his head. "Yes." He looked thoughtful. "How did you know? I haven't been competing in the last three years."

"That's because Aoi is a fish," explained Yumi. "She knows about all the fast swimmers in the world. If I remember what Aoi always babbled about, you were the one of the youngest Olypmic swimmers."

Shin crossed his arm. "I suppose so. I don't keep track."

"So, how did you know Touma?" asked Akira.

"Touma? We know each other through a friend of a friend."

"So what is she to you?" Surprisingly, Shingo was the one who popped the question.

Shin looked at Shingo critically as if he recognize the young man from somewhere. "She is...one of the most special ladies in my life," he answered finally.

That statement made a rock drop in Shingo's stomach. This Mouri person looked to be semi-rich from his slacks and fine tan leather jacket. The same feeling permeated the stomachs of other girls in the class. It was not fair that the new girl in town got the attention of both Shingo-kun and this dashing athlete.

"Now, if you'll excuse me." With that, Shin left the classroom.

---------------------------------------------------

Four shadows watched the pool of water. Inside was the serious expression of a certain blue haired young lady opening her locker door. Inside the person length locker was neatly organized stacks of books and vanilla folders. She reached in with shaky fingers for a particular folder labeled "legal files."

"So that's Tenku," whispered one.

"Yes. The last of the Hashiba line..." whispered another.

"Quite the beautiful lady...she would be a lovely addition to us."

The scene in the water changed. Now the girl was getting into a silver coup with another person. A young man with reddish brown hair who was carrying a stack of files. He dumped the files in the trunk and got in the car.

"She doesn't look too much powerful," one objected.

"But she did killed the Iioni...without even noticing it."

"Why not Suiko? He looked to be a better candidate. Korin has greater spiritual power. Even Rekka. He can create the new Kikoutei."

"We have to be realisitic here. Each one of them has humane qualities. Kongo administers for fair treatment of all with Justice. Suiko solidify the community with trust. Korin's Courtsy cares for other's well being. Rekka rules all with a benevolence unmatched. But Tenku plans with cold logic. Out of all of them, she is the best one to take."

"True..." one said thoughtfully. The image in the pool shifted again. This time, it was a close up of her face, looking out of a car window, staring at nothing in particular. "All her handiwork is methodical and quick. Iioni did not have a chance to scream before he died."

The smallest one shivered. "Iioni did not even have a spirit left."

"One does not go after a priestess and yoroi bearer without any backup. I had warned him."

Suddenly the face in the pool changed. Her dark blue eyes seemed to stare straight into the dark faces of the shadows, then those midnight eyes narrowed. Without warning, the pool of water exploded in their faces.

The shadows scrambled away as fast as they could. One shadow, who was too slow, was immediately soaked by the water and started to steam and melt.

"Holy water!" cried the smallest. "She transformed it through dimensions!"

The other three watched helplessly as their brethren slowly dissolve into nothingness. There was nothing they could do. When all of them gathered their bearings again, the pool of water was empty, leaving a dark black charred hole.

--------------------------------------------------

"Touma...Touma?" called Shin. "What's wrong?"

The two were in a car, on the highway heading toward Kyoto. Touma was on the passenger seat, still looking outside, not bothering wearing a seat belt. Her entire body was in very much pain from all the cuts she received last night. Then there was Mrs. Yun who thoughtlessly gave her a good smack, reopening some wounds. Being strapped to a seat was one of the last thing on Touma's list.

Touma paused for a little, not feeling like talking. Eventually, she said, "Nothing. I was only getting rid of some unwanted attention."


	5. The Good Brother

Writing this on Sugar High! (Well, the first part, I kinda lost inspiration when I got my second design project back in December)

So, I was surfing on (Yes, I'm from Taiwan and yes, I do have some cute cousins who should never see the light of day since they're so damn cute.) and found some inspiration.

Ohm... Sugar...

Calming

Chapter 5 - The Good Brother

"Mrs. Yun should die," muttered Shingo. He was, along with what seemed like millions of other people, milling along the train station. Normally, on a Wednesday, Meisi would let him leave kendo practice early and Shingo would happily avoid the train rush. Then that bastard Mr. Setshin somehow found him and brought Mrs. Yun with him.

Mrs. Yun did not give him good news. She gave him extra sets of homework due the next day, saying that he did below average on his last two quizzes. Thinking about it made Shingo want to beat the teacher. Physics was not his favorite subject. He swore that if he was god, Newton would have never been born. All the problems Mrs. Yun assigned were not something one completed within two hours. Not only that, he couldn't beat the afternoon rush. Now he was stuck with all these stressed out working men, packed together like smelly sardines.

_"Shingo! Why are you late again?"_ The lovely voice of Mrs. Kazamatsuri rang in Shingo's head. _"Your brain is going to rot with all those kendo fights and girls."_

_"Son, I would like it if you spend more time studying, instead of practicing Kendo."_ Dad's voice always carried that tone of disapproval, like someone had just failed him. Shingo hated that one the most. It's like being guilted into studying, you feel bad the whole time and the same nasty feeling never goes away afterward.

"I guess I'll just listen to them nag again," murmured Shingo with a sigh. He knew his folks wanted the best for him. That was why they push himed to study so much. Then again, he knew kendo was the best bet he had to attend a good college. They usually allowed you to be a bit stupid if you were good at a sport.

"Calling for all Shiki area passengers. Train is about to depart," the needlessly calming voice spoke over the intercom.

_Shiki...Isn't that where Touma lives?_ Thinking about Touma made Shingo a little concerned. The girl was more than a little elusive. Shingo had seen her for about half an hour at the most on Monday. Then, she was absent for the next week and a half. Where did she go? Where did she spend her last two weeks? What was she hiding? How did she have Mrs. Yun to cringe at the very mention of her name? Come to think of it, Touma had never explained completely how she got so hurt.

Shingo's eyes started to wander, then a special blue-haired person caught his attention. That's gotta be Touma. _I mean, how many people have that hair color in the world?_ That person, wearing a dark blue sweater and jogging shorts, was being pushed toward the trains. Shingo's promise to Touma surfaced in his mind. He was supposed to tell her what homework assignments she missed. But then he'd be late to home, and would have less time to do his extra homework, not to mention listening to the deeply incriminating speech from father...

"My folks are going to kill me," said Shingo even as he pushed his way to the train headed for Shiki.

He made it in right before the train doors closed. He hobbled unsteadily as the train accelerated. His eyes darted in each direction for his peer, skipping past the expensive suits and Rolex watches. He felt a little uncomfortable, knowing that most people in the train car probably made more than he would make in a lifetime. _But they live in Shiki area...she would be too_. With that thought in mind, blue-haired girl was not hard to find. He wormed his way through the people and snuck up behind the girl.

"Hi!" he greeted.

Touma blinked. She turned and looked straight into Shingo's dark chocolate eyes. "Shingo..." She looked as if she did not expect him to be there. "Hi..."

Shingo smiled a little. The bruise he saw last time was now only a slight discoloration on her cheek. The dark circles were now gone. Her slender legs lacked the bumps and seemed to be alright overall. She gave him an encouraging smile, the same one that made his heart flutter strangely.

"We missed you at school," he said. "Where have you been?"

Touma looked away and sighed. "Too many places..." Her eyes were slightly glazed but the life in them returned quickly. "Anyways, what did we do in school?"

"Well..." Shingo scratched his head. His memories about school specifics were never really good. It didn't help that all subjects besides kendo and history made his head smack the desk in boredom or drowsiness. "Took a quiz in Mrs. Yun and Mr. Tan's class. There's another test tomorrow. We got assigned a bunch of homework..." he looked to Touma whose mind seemed to be elsewhere. "What did you do the last week and a half?"

"Nothing that anyone wants to know," said Touma with a shrug.

"Come on. **I** want to know," said Shingo sincerely.

Touma only shook her head in silence.

"Pretty please?" sang Shingo.

The blue-head shook again.

"With sugar on top?"

A faint smile ghosted by the girl's lips but still she shook her head. "I don't feel like it."

"I'll give you candy," the young man offered with a grin.

"Hum..." her tone was grave. "What candy do you have?"

"Err..."Shingo did not anticipate someone would take him seriously. Thinking quickly, his hands fumbled in his pockets and bags._ I bought something during lunch time...Ah ha! _"Extra Juicy Fruit Starburst!" He held up the square candy like one of those crazies on the TV commercial.

This caused a small laugh to burst from Touma's mouth. Her hand went to reach for the starburst just to have the delicious treat snatched away above her.

"Hey! You said you're going to give me candy!" Touma whined like she had just been insulted.

"Not until you tell me what you did the last two weeks," said Shingo. But somewhere in the back of his mind came the questions, _Now...when did this happen before?_ This situation felt extremely familiar. _Wait! The first time we..._

Shingo realized with horror that he was still dealing with the a rather aggressive girl who would probably aim for that area again. He saw Touma move, and his free hand immediately went down there to protect that special spot, hoping to prevent the pain a second time.

It never came.

Shingo's felt something was amiss. He twitched his finger, there was an empty feeling in those fingers. He looked down to see Touma holding up a v-sign. Neatly wedged between the two fingers was the soft candy. With speedy dexterous fingers, she unwrapped the red wax paper one-handed and popped it in her mouth before Shingo could even blink.

"Yum..." Touma chewed happily. Her eyes narrowed into merry half-moon saucers. "Cherry flavored...I like it."

Shingo's jaw dropped, a little baffled at what had just happened but that bafflement quickly turned into a large smile. "You know, you are the first girl I know who could snatch that before I noticed it."

"Hehe," Touma giggled. "I bet I'm the only girl who can do that."

"Must be!" Personally, Shingo was very impressed. Meisi said that Shingo's lightening fast relaxes could only be bested by the best, and an average looking girl like Touma certainly didn't appear to fit that description. "You know, even Yumi couldn't do it, and she's faster than most of the guys on the school archery team."

"Yumi..." Touma said it thoughtfully. "She's very pretty and popular, isn't she?"

"Heck yeah! She's smart too." The memories of all those marks much higher than himself came up in his mind like some unwanted mother-in-law. "A lot of guys are after her," said Shingo.

"Why aren't you after her then?" asked Touma.

"Yumi? It would be too weird." Shingo had been going to the same school as Yumi for as long as he could remember. They were a lot closer back then. Now they were young adults and acted like it, with all the melodrama included. "I know her from way back. We've been on and off since kindergarten. During first grade, I promised that I would marry her when I was ten years old and have like twenty children." Shingo laughed a little. He certainly had some silly ideas when he was younger. "First grade," he said again to emphasize the point. "Can you believe that?"

Touma's eyes sparkled strangely. "I believe that."

Shingo smiled. For a moment there, he thought Touma was going to laugh at him for such infantile details about his life. Akira and the guys in kendo certain did when he said that. Of course, he was drunk at the time...

"We went through school together," continued Shingo. "She got prettier and I got into kendo. I still love her, but more as a sister than a girlfriend. Always have."

"I see." Touma sounded a little sad.

"Do you have brothers and sisters?" asked Shingo. "I got two little sisters and a little brother."

"I'm an only child," replied Touma simply.

"Huh..Any Cousins? Aunts and Uncles?"

"No." Touma looked down mutely at her tennis shoes. "My parents were the only children in their families."

"Oh..." intoned Shingo. Suddenly, Touma seemed quite lonely and small to him. Her thin legs and delicate looks were so obvious . Shingo could not explain it, but he unconsciously put an empathizing arm on her shoulder. "Hey. No worries. At the very least, I'll be your brother if you like."

Shingo was rewarded with a faint smile. "Thanks."

"No problem," said Shingo. "If you need anything else, just ask me."

Touma gave him the gentlest smile that he had ever seen. "So, tell me all the assignments I missed."

The day was overcast and large rain clouds threatened an imminent shower. Shin was sitting on a bench right outside the Shiki area station, a brown bag of fresh groceries next to him. Thousands of people rushed past him, their destinations known and routine. There were waiting wives, husbands, and children at home. Many had extra work from the office to be done and children's homework to check. Life was an endless cycle of duty, work, and obligation. Shin was no exception as he rubbed his tired eyes and adjusted his textbook again. On his lap was a writing pad with many drawings of sea turtles and scribbled descriptions in the corner of each turtle. His watch was always in plain view of his eyes. Keeping an eye on the watch helped him to study the material faster. Time was too precious and he had too little of it to waste.

When the hour and minute hand made a straight line at six pm, he looked up and within his vision was the girl in jogging shorts and a large blue sweater. Immediately, he shut the writing pad and book. The pencils and pens were placed into stationary boxes. He had just slipped everything into his backpack and stood up just as the girl arrived right next to him. Both wordlessly took the directions towards Touma's home and started walking without any words.

"How did the legal proceedings go?" was Shin's way to break the silence.

"Appalling," said Touma. "Mr. Hanarui is dead set on that property and he was very crude about it."

"I'm sure you insulted him," said Shin.

"Of course. His wife and business partner think that he's no smarter than an amoeba." There was a rather wicked look to Touma's features. Her eyes had narrowed in fiendish pleasure, almost no white in them at all. Personal vengeance was never complete without total humiliation and Touma was the type of person who would get more than even. Then her expression turned serious. "Did you get Urasai?" she asked.

Shin shook his head. "Urasai is as slippery as an eel. All we got was his subordinates."

"Ah," acknowledged Touma. "Did my traps work though?"

"Perfectly as usual. None of us got hurt either."

"That's good," said Touma. "I get worried when you go hunting in Youkai."

"Worried?" scoffed Shin. "You should worry about yourself. You gave Ryo quite a scare last week. He thought you were going to die."

"Ryo's a worrywart," stated Touma. "We've survived more than that."

Shin closed his eyes and furrowed his brows. It was not hard to recall the battered body. Large welts and bruises all over her arms and legs from blunt trauma. Deep slashes on her back to the bones were left unattended like the strikes from a maddened butcher on a fresh slab of meat. Her eyes dilated from near shock but, yet maintaining a furious expression for allowing her enemy to escape. Shin had to admit that her persistence was admirable, but even he was not willing to test his mortality.

"Touma, did you even realize that you faced one of Urasai's equals that night?" asked Shin.

Touma was silent to that question. Her eyes had narrowed and breath deepened. The memories of that night were unpleasant in more ways than just Urasai.

"We were fairly surprised when we realized that," said Shin. He opened his eyes and turned to stare straight into the darkness of Touma's eyes. "The three of us haven't been successful in getting anywhere near Urasai, but you could defeat one of his equals on your own. You are either really powerful or really lucky that you weren't killed."

The girl shrugged. "Well, he's gone now. That's one less evil spirit to concern ourselves with."

"That's not the point. You were nearly killed, why didn't you call for us? Any of us? Heck, you could had teleported out of there."

"And let him trash my apartment, lose the opportunity?"

"Is it worth your life?" Shin's tone was irate. His natural personality and age made him feel obligated to care for the health of the others in their special friendship of five, especially for Touma, their youngest. Now her lack of regard for her life was annoying him.

"I made a calculated risk and decided to take it."

"Is it worth your life?" he asked again.

"Quit asking that question."

"Is it worth your life?" he asked firmly.

"How about you shut up?"

Shin spun around at the comment, causing both to halt their walk. His green eyes stared into the darkness of Touma's. Shin could not believe what Touma had said. She was normally very kind and gentle around Shin, even during times of trial with her family.

"I'm sorry." She looked away ashamed. She should be more patient with people who cared enough to spend time with her. "But in my defense, you have done the same before!"

Shin started to walk again. "Sa...It's okay. It's just that we're concerned since you left Hana High." Shin looked down and sighed. "It must be hard, with your father and all."

The two continue to pace in silence. Touma now walked about a step behind Shin, still feeling abashed by her inappropriate behavior. Shin was only being kind, perhaps the kindest person in the world to her now. Who would ever withstand the two-hour travel from Tokyo to Osaka each week to give her cooking lessons? Particularly when that person was a college student with exams and papers due the next day?

"You know...Seiji said he wanted to see you," said Shin when they were about a block away from Touma's place. Usually, the mention of Seiji cheered Touma up. Shin suspected there was something between the two though they acted like no more than friends at all times. "He said he'll come tomorrow to check up on you."

"Tell him that I don't want to see him." She sounded very tired. "Besides, I missed a week and half worth of school. I have a lot of homework to make up."

"Oh." Shin did not comment on that. If Touma did not want to do something to the point of giving an excuse, there was probably no way she would do it.

"Come on. I left the balcony door open. We can fly in."

Shin raised an eyebrow. It was the same problem the last time he came. The gatekeeper was unusally anal with security procedures. "You still haven't gotten it back yet?"

Touma shook her head.

"You could just make a fake one..."

Touma looked aghast. "That's illegal..."

Shin just laughed. "That has never stopped you before. Is there something you are not telling me?"

Touma blushed. "Let's just say, I found a really good friend."

"Love interest?"

The Warrior of the Skies could only laughed shyly.

Okay. That took a while to get out. I'm still trying to get this writing thing down better. I hope to improve on the next chapter.

Suikorin


	6. Chapter 6

I was inspired when I wrote this. Hopefully, things will pick up at some point.

Chapter 6 - So How Many Guys Are You Datin!

"You know, we haven't seen the others in a while," said Shu. He was sitting on a rock, spending the rare half an hour of lunchtime he had with his buddy Ryo.

Ryo, who was throwing bird feed to the ducks at the school pond, disagreed. "We just saw them two days ago."

Shu shook his head and absently chewed on his rice. What Ryo said was true. They saw Seiji, Shin and Touma in their last hunt, but that was not what Shu wanted to say. "I mean out together as a group friends," Shu clarified, "doing what normal teenagers do, not patrol duties in Youkai, not just passing by."

Ryo sat down next to Shu. "Are we even normal teenagers?" he asked.

The heavier set boy scowled. "Let's not start on that conversation again."

Ryo raked his long scruffy black hair with his right hand, thinking. Lately, it had been soccer practice, keeping demons in the spirit world, and school. On Friday nights, when most of their peers were out downtown having fun, he would be bogged down with homework. When his classmates were discussing the best method to catch a girlfriend or boyfriend, he would be thinking of ways to catch Urasai. He did not mind too much. It was his destiny, and he was happy to be gifted with four lifetime friends, even if he did not see them often.

Shu was different. Unlike Ryo, who preferred to be alone most of the time, Shu would rather be with other people. Shu was social, and he had many other friends outside just their special five-member group. He believed that being there for a friend was much more important than defending a Youkai takeover. Sadly, Shu realized that he had not, could not have been there for his childhood friend when she needed someone the most.

"You know, Touma's birthday is coming up," said Shu suddenly.

"Oh yeah? When is that?" asked Ryo. He was not very good with personal details. He could only remember that she was born later in the year and younger than him by a year.

"October tenth. We should do something nice for her..." Shu put strong emphasis on the word _nice_.

"And it would be a good day for all of us to be together." Ryo nodded with understanding. "But we have our College Entrance Exam Review that day."

"Oh yeah..." Shu took another bite of the food in his lunch box.

Ryo was equally thoughtful. He wanted to do something nice for Touma also. He felt kind of sorry for her. Out of all of them, she had the most unconventional life, mostly brought upon herself by her inhuman preciousness. Most girls with her looks, at her age, should have been laughing at all the boys chasing her, enjoying their youth. Instead, Touma spent nearly all her time as the priestess of her grandfather's shrine or caring for her ill father, skipping many days of school. Even in Youkai, he could tell that Touma was pressed for time by her unusual aggressiveness and expediency. It worried Ryo, as his friend was too serious for her own good.

"We'll do something good," said Ryo with finality in his voice. He threw the rest of the birdfeed into the pond, causing a flock of ducks to gather. "But it'll have to be a surprise."

"Sounds like a command," said Shu with amusement. Ryo was their undisputed leader who hated ordering them around.

"It is," said Ryo simply. "You call up Shin. I'll get Seiji. We need to start planning, _now_."

ooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo

It was nighttime at the Date Dojo. Every single light was out except the one in the upper right corner on the second floor. There was shadow silhouette of a young man, hunched lightly over a desk, writing. Everything was silent, except for the chirping of crickets outside and the scribbling of a pen.

Seiji sighed as he stopped to rub his eyes. He had zero sleep in the last two days due to school and his duties as a trooper. His current school assignment was due tomorrow and there was a very good chance a test was planned too.

_Another all-nighter_ thought Seiji, fighting the urge to drop dead from sleepiness. "School comes first," as Seiji's mother had always preached, despite her knowledge of her son as a Trooper.

He then took a look at two pictures on his desk.

One picture was of all of them together at a Chinese restaurant three years ago. Ryo smiled faintly in all his simple seriousness. Shin trying to choke Shu while Shu held two forks to Shin's head. He himself had an embarrassed look on his face, looking as if he wished no one in the five-hundred-seat restaurant had seen this. Touma was wide eyed, trying to pry Shu and Shin apart.

Seiji had to chuckle. He did not remember why the two were fighting in the first place. It was most likely over food as Shu really liked seafood dinners and Shin hated harm to anything marine. They caused quite a stir during the middle of dinnertime, in the middle of Shu's family restaurant, by flinging some food around, causing a few bystander casualties. Mama Faung, Shu's mother, was really miffed and sentenced Shu, and eventually all of them, to a week of dishwashing hell.

The other picture had been placed flat down. With a heavy heart, Seiji reached to set the picture back on display. It was a photo of Touma, standing there alone in middle of Ama no Hashidate plain in her priestess clothes, looking to a baby blue sky. He remembered how a camera-shy Touma had refused to let him take even one picture. When he finally tricked her by taking the picture during one of her deep thought moments, when she was completely oblivious to everything else except to all the songs and calls in the wind. Touma swore she would get him back for that. Seiji was bruised a bit from that encounter, but he was really glad that he had captured the picture.

Seiji traced the outlines of her cheek in the picture, imagining it was really her. He missed her terribly, more than anyone else. However, she was a day's train ride away, busy with her father's problems and probably still angrier with him than anyone else. When Touma held a grudge, she would hold onto it like one would hold on for dear life.

_Seiji!_ A voice called from nowhere. It took Seiji only a second to realize that it was Ryo, talking to him telepathically.

For a moment, Seiji thought of just blocking him out, but only for a moment. _What do you want?_

_You're awfully curt._

_Sleep deprivation does that to you._

_Are you free on October ninth?_

_I might be._

_Well, we want to surprise Touma. You know, take her out and stuff. _

_What for?_

_Her birthday, Stupid._

_Oh._

_You will be free then_. It wasn't a question.

_I'll arrange something.. How is she? I haven't seen her in..._

_She's managing. She got the apartment fixed and her father seems to have stabilized._

_Meaning he isn't dead yet?_

_Seiji!_

_He is putting unnecessary burdens on her. Come on, the man has never been a father to her, but she's doing everything a good dutiful daughter would do._

_He's her father, Seiji. _Ryo said it as if it explained everything.

_Then Genichiru doesn't deserve the title of father. He's even affecting her performance in Youkai by his moans._

_...Seiji, I think you better get some sleep._

_Why?_

_Because you're criticizing Touma._

_What does that have to do with sleep?_

_Grams is coming. Night_

Like a telephone, their telepathic link was broken with a click.

Seiji frowned to himself. What was wrong with criticizing Touma? He disapproved of how she constantly had to see her father, had to care for her aging grandparents. Why care for the people who had pretty much neglected her since she was old enough to attend school? The letters he retained since they first met as children were often riddled with grievances of being left alone for weeks at a time, even during important holidays like New Year's. Her father was always working. Her mother was always traveling. Her grandparents were already sixty, with little patience for Touma's many questions. A child who, perfect in the complete sense of the word, was masochistic in Seiji's eye.

"Filial piety obligates me to them, no matter the circumstances," she would always say when Seiji mentioned her devotion to her parents despite their previous neglect.

"And love does not oblige them to you?" would be Seiji's returning words.

Usually that would start a fight between them. They swore to be best friends to each other, yet Seiji never had such a verbal onslaught flung at him. As perfect as Touma was, she also had one nasty vocabulary. Seiji would return in kind, resulting in one of their extended shouting wars.

_I should apologize,_ thought Seiji. Normally, he would wait for the other person to say sorry. His high morals, confidence and stubbornness usually had others begging for forgiveness. But this was Touma, his childhood friend, and the one person who, now more than ever, needed some kindness. That and Touma had been completely silent to him. Even in Youkai, her faceplate would be completely down. Besides, he did not want to test his will against Touma. He did not want to risk a decade of malice. _I'll do that now. A letter will do. Sleep can wait._

_ooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo _

It was dusk at Getsukin High School. In the classroom of Junior Class A, two students had stayed behind after everyone had left. It was another Wednesday, a day that Shingo was supposed to have a short kendo practice at Meisi's then go home. Not so today, since Shingo was asked to stay behind to do some math problems by Mr. Setshin after practice.

Shingo supposed that he could refuse, and he had thought of just sneaking out and avoiding math all together. He never liked numbers anyways and found that the four basic operations would do him just fine in real life. That and he really had to finish writing a letter to the Date kid. All that changed when he saw his bloodied test score. Mr. Setshin, showing a rare moment of direct disapproval, even drew a frowning face on the top of the paper. What made it worse was that Akira had overseen the paper and decided to steal it and show everyone the frownie. Shingo swore that he would give Akira a beating during their next practice.

So, after he called his parents about staying at school longer for academic reasons (which resulted in a ten minute lecture from his mother), he went back to his classroom. He expected the room to be empty, but there was another person still in there.

Touma.

The girl was sitting in her assigned seat, quietly scribbling away on a piece of essay paper. She wore the black Getsukin High Uniform, just as he did. Her presence was unexpected as she was absent the entire day.

Shingo's mood strangely elevated, and he spoke up. "Hey! Long time no see."

Touma looked up from her writing. Seeing that it was Shingo, she smiled faintly. "Hi."

"How are you doing? We don't see you a lot here," said Shingo, commenting on the obvious. Touma had not been to school for days, something that had been concerning Shingo for a while.

"No. You don't see me a lot, do you?" said Touma from her chair, completely avoiding Shingo's question.

Shingo paused; he knew a warning tone when he heard it. He decided to back off. He went to his seat and with a hop, slid onto the desk. "What are you doing here anyways? School's out."

"Well, I can ask you the same thing," she returned. "What are YOU doing here? Don't you have kendo practice?"

Shingo made a face. "Setshin wants me to do some more math problems."

Touma chuckled. "Math isn't your strong point?"

Feeling slightly insulted, Shingo dared, "And math is yours?"

"Better than everyone at this school," she declared with complete confidence.

Shingo snorted. "I doubt it. You don't know how smart Houin is."

"Houin? That thick black-rimmed four-eyed short guy with greasy hair?" asked Touma.

Shingo thought about it. He never noticed Houin much until exam times when his name was on top of the Results Lists. "Yes. He is a freakin' genius."

Touma looked as if she was about to rebut that. She opened her mouth but no words came out. Shingo noticed that her hand had suddenly clenched into a fist and her face took on a solemn look he had never seen.

"Hey. You alright?" he asked, concerned.

As if pulled out of the twilight zone, Touma blinked. She shrugged. "I'm alright. I am just not happy that I am not making the grades. People used to call me a genius too."

Speaking of grades reminded Shingo of what Yumi had been saying. Even after learning that Touma was of no danger to her crown as the school beauty by the mere fact that Touma never came to school, Yumi still spoke of shameful things about Touma. As much as Shingo liked Yumi, he was much near the point of shaking her.

"Well, if you wanna made the grades, you gotta come to school," said Shingo. "I know it sounds very uncool and all, but you need high school to go to college."

Touma stared at him. A lecture, from him? "Who are you, my father?"

"No. I'm your older brother, remember? I'm suppose to say these things."

Suddenly, Touma laughed. Shingo found her laughter soothing to the ears, and a pleasant wonder to the eyes.

"How is it that you know exactly what to say?" she asked.

Shingo smirked. "Because I am just so cool."

Touma's eyes narrowed into half moons of pleasure. "You make me smile more than anyone else."

"Well, you do look very pretty when you smile," said Shingo. On a sudden impulse, he leaned close to her until they were a mere couple inches from each other. Hoping that no one else alive could hear him, he said quietly, "I want to make you smile more."

Touma looked down shyly, not knowing what to say. Shingo was obviously flirting, but she could tell he was also sincere with his words. Her heart was skipping beats and her cheeks had never felt so hot. He was so close too, so close that she could feel his breath on her cheeks. Unconsciously, Touma's lips parted slightly.

"Kazamatsuri!" came the stern voice of Mr. Setshin from the doorway.

Touma looked away and Shingo shrank back, sliding back to his seat in the process.

Mr. Setshin looked at the two through his brown-rimmed spectacles. The two had strangely red cheeks. Crossing his arms, Mr. Setshin said "Mr. Kazamatsuri. As I recall, disturbing Miss Hashiba isn't part of doing math problems."

"It's alright Setshin," said Touma, dismissing the old man with a wave of her hand. "He isn't disturbing me."

Shingo tilted his head as he looked back to Touma. Shingo recalled that even the teachers gave extra consideration to Setshin, but Touma was treating Setshin as an equal.

Mr. Setshin raised his eyebrows at Touma. "Have you completed your assignments, Miss Hashiba?"

Touma pointed to one of two neatly stacked papers in front of the classroom on the teacher's desk. "Completed, in order from the earliest to the latest."

"And exams?"

Touma pointed to the other pile. "Also completed, in order, from earliest to latest."

Setshin looked like he did not believe the girl's words, but he did pick up the stacks of paper, giving them a cursory glance. He begrudgingly nodded in satisfaction. He took the two stacks of paper, ready to leave with them.

"You will have to grade them," reminded Touma. "Formality reasons, you understand."

"Of course Miss Hashiba," said Setshin with a cordiality he had never used with students. "Get back to work, Kazamatsuri. Have Miss Hashiba check them at the end and you won't have to come see me."

Shingo nodded dumbly.

Setshin gave the two another meaningful glare and left.

This time, it was Touma's turn to smirk. "You should get back to work, as I should be doing too."

Shingo took a moment to regain his composure. "Since when did you become his pet? I thought Setshin only liked Houin since Houin is so good at math."

"No. Dr. Setshin considers me as a colleague, not a pet," corrected Touma. Seeing the skepticism in Shingo's eyes, she further explained. "I was NOT kidding when I said I am better at math than EVERYONE in this school."

Still dubious, Shingo just shrugged. "Whatever you say." It was very hard for him to believe that anyone was as good at math as Houin, at least around their age. Still he did need help in math, and he would rather not have Yumi, Akira, Aoi or even Houin teach him. Yumi was too scattered brained. Akira was almost as bad at math as him. Aoi sucked at teaching and Houin just got on his nerves.

"I'll be here to finish my other homework," said Touma, returning to her furious scribbling.

Seeing that her attention was concentrated elsewhere, he began on his problem sets also.

oooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo

The two children worked until the moon rose high up in the sky. The fluorescent lights were turned on at some point by a passing teacher. Every so often, Shingo would look up from his math to stare at the growing pile of paper on Touma's desk. From a glance, Shingo could tell that she was working on nearly all the homework that had been assigned to Class A since the start of school. Sometimes, Shingo would ask Touma a math question, which she would answer with all the patience of an eternal star.

Finally, at ten o' clock at night, Shingo was finished. He sighed happily and turned toward Touma. Something about her was very comely to the eyes. Her briskness to complete each assignment was a little disturbing, but that was lost to Shingo; he was more interested in Touma's expression. She was absorbed in her work. The aura that surrounded her was serene. She leaned on the desk, slightly hunched over. Right hand moved a pencil tirelessly while left hand held the paper in place. Fomr time to time, she would pause to wipe away the long bangs and stray hair.

A phrase that Shingo's father said popped into his head.

"A woman is most beautiful when hard at work." It was a phrase father used when telling his children about the reason why he married mother. Shingo had always thought that was pure nonsense. Miss. Yun was always hard at work, torturing students with impossible perplexities of physics. Given work, Yumi always looked like someone had just asked her to pose nude. Aoi was about the same, except she always looked like she was about to cry. The other girls...well they all moan and groan, complaining about this and that. The only time they would look pretty was on the no-uniform day, when each girl would wear clothes that barely conformed to the school dress code. With Touma, it was...different.

Somehow, Shingo just understood what his father meant.

"Um...Are you alright?" asked Touma, finally noticing Shingo's staring.

Shingo blinked out of his thoughts. "Yeah. Yes. I am...I'm done. Here." He handed her his problem sets.

"Thank you." Touma took the sloppy work, flipping through the numerous eraser marks and pencil scribbles. She had looked at them before, and found Shingo to be decent with methods but terrible with accuracy. "I'll keep this and turn it in," she said. Suddenly, she yawned.

Shingo laughed. "It's getting pretty late. Aren't your parents worried?"

"No," answered Touma while stretching, getting last of the yawn out of herself. "I live by myself."

That was surprising information and it showed on Shingo's face. However, he quickly recovered, saying, "Well, I am going to go." He quickly shoved his pencils, paper, and textbook into his pack. "Would you like me to walk you home?"

Touma tapped her stack of papers. "Thanks, but no. I have another half to finish."

"Won't the custodians come and kick you out?"

"They won't. I have special permission from Setshin."

"I see. Well I have to go before my father grills my little siblings on how terrible a son their older brother is."

"Okay," muttered Touma. She sounded content, but Shingo could have sworn that he saw a glimmer of envy. Quietly, almost resolutely, Touma forced her expression back to neutral and started back on the ever-growing pile of paper. It was a sad look, and Shingo wondered what he could do to put a smile back on her face.

A plan germinated in Shingo's mind. "Hey," he called, right at the doorway.

"Yes?"

"There's a little festival this weekend at Town Square," informed Shingo. "I'll be there for a kendo demonstration. You should come."

"I'll..think about it."

"Please do!" said Shingo, leaving with a lot of hopes and prayers to every god known to men.

"Now I just have to get into that kendo demonstration," he said to himself.

oooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo

Phew...probably long and kinda boring, but it's gonna be one very sugary and sweet relationship. Next part will take a while since...well..I'm stuck...Anyways, review if you feel like it. You can flame, if the reasons are legit..And remember, I'm still trying to improve on the writing, so be gentle.

Thanks for Reading

Suikorin.


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